Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Twenty Four: Paper Lives •EDITED•

"Yes," Philip agreed quietly then cleared his throat. "How did you find me?"

"I followed your trace until you turned it off."

"Because of an unexpectedly thick section of fog I had lost the signal, but I intended to be found."

"Of course you did, Phil."

"What do you want, Issac?" Philip knew that anger had seeped into his tone and his expression paled. That was no way to talk to a superior and he knew it.

"What is that supposed to mean, messenger?" Issac's eyes hardened as he asked the question.

Philip grimaced and lowered his head. He fought to hold his tongue, again. "I apologize for my tone, Captain."

"Don't look so disappointed Philip," Issac murmured as he walked past the younger man, his voice barely carrying any weight as it faded into the wind, "you're making me feel guilty."

"What?" Philip's gaze snapped up and once again he was lost in Issac's eyes, a shade of blue that mimicked the clear sky.

"Didn't you want us to be strangers? I'm only doing what you wanted."

"I didn't-"

"I know you hate me, but can you at least pretend for a moment that this never happened so that we can get out of here?"

"I don't ha-"

"Don't lie Philip, I can see it in your eyes."

Philip finally looked away, his thoughts scattered about in confusion as his frustrated mind tried to understand what was going on.

Why was Issac the angry one? Why was he defending himself when he did nothing wrong?

"You left me." He forced the words out of his closing throat and gritted his teeth to stop anything else from leaving his mouth.

"And it wasn't my fault," Issac snapped, his irises shifting from a sparkling azure to a dull blue. "I didn't want to go."

"But you did, and you never even bothered to say goodbye."

"I had no choice, what part of that don't you understand?"

"I don't understand any of it," Philip said. "You could have called, mailed, texted. . . Anything! But you didn't. You just disappeared like I meant nothing. Did I mean nothing to you?"

"I don't know," Issac's tone dropped a few more degrees, his voice sending chills down Philip's spine despite the warming effect of his suit. "Did you consider what my mother meant to me when you got her killed?"

The world froze. His heart stopped. Philip felt everything spin out of control. He was numb to the pain until it hit him full force and he was left gasping for air at the sudden attack to his obliviousness. The acrid taste of bile rose up his throat; he met Issac's cool gaze and shuddered.

He hates me. . .

"Philip, I'm sorry." He heard Issac say from somewhere, nowhere on this earth, nowhere near him. Those words didn't exist, they fixed nothing.

"Leave me alone." The messenger took a step back, the movement sending a jarring pain stabbing into chest.

"You know I didn't mean it."

Yes, he knew. But the words were there, unerasable and forever remaining. They were the truth, the painful sentence that spelt out all he had been running away from, himself-his curse of a life.

Each word was like a spear into his side, so agonizing that Philip found it hard to stand.

Desperation clawed at his ribs to escape; stabbing into his eyes to flood them with tears. He resisted long enough to ask a question. "Is that what you think? That I wanted her to die?"

"No."

"Say what you mean, Issac."

"I did." The captain answered slowly. "She loved you, Philip."

"And I killed her." The words escaping and he finally understood the second truth he had overlooked.

He hates me. . . How could I forget?

"It wasn't your fault, I wasn't thinking." Issac rushed through his words, his voice tinged with what could have been regret if not for it's quick pace. "Forgive me and forget about it, if not for old times sake then for hers. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"I killed them."

"Philip, I want this conversation over. Consider that an order from your superior." Issac's tone hardened again like there was never any remorse or sadness coating the deep blue of his gaze just moments ago.

"I want a map of the surrounding area made, now," he added.

Two dimensionality. Transparency in all workings on earth, plain in the revelation of self, and maintaining peace forever with all of creation.

Philip let his emotions fall into a jar somewhere in his soul and slammed the lid tight on all the pain he could be feeling. He released all the hope he had been craving.

He doesn't care.

"Yes Sir," he forced his mind into the present, "consider it done."

Why did I come here? Why didn't I die that day? Why am I so stupid?

In the end they were all just roaming through paper worlds filled with paper lies and spilling over with paper lives. One day they would all face the shredder, with nothing left of them but paper emotions and an early demise without any hope for Paradise.

†

I had a dream about paper...
This was close over 2,500. I almost got carried away.
Oh well. Philip and Issac have some things to work out, eh?

Do you think Issac doesn't care? How about Philip, some insight into his past shows more disturbing things (yay).

Why is Philip thinking about "Two dimensionality" all of a sudden? Well, except for the fact that I felt like writing about paper.

Question of the chapter

Who is the 'them' that Philip killed?
Any ideas?